Cataclysm part 1
by alyosha's madness
Summary: Connie leaves Beach City and Peridot, after her battle with the gems, makes one last attempt to contact homeworld. May be rated M for later chapters due to violence and language, idk for the moment.
1. contact

*huff, huff* "Stupid planet! *argh* You have talent you should join the tech corps they said. It'll be easy they said. There's nothing out there, the dominate species is threatening to wipe themselves out they said *huff* but now I'm the one stuck here on this stupid freaking planet!"

Peridot reached for another rock and picked it up. "Stupid crystal gems." The rock slipped out of her grip and landed with a thud on her good foot. "OW! I swear the first chance I get I am going to blow this planet up."

It had been weeks since her last encounter with the aforementioned gems but the scars were still fresh. Peridot reached down and scratched at the edge of the stump where her leg had been just a few weeks prior. Her fingers bumped against the wood used to make her prosthetic. Granted, calling it a prosthetic would be an insult even to the pirates of old. This was, more or less, a block of wood she had strapped to her stump. Arts and crafts never really was Peridot's thing to begin with.

"Scratch that." She said. "First I'm going to get a new leg then I'm going to blow up this miserable planet."

There was still a phantom pain where the appendage had been but if she hadn't jettisoned it she would have been caught or worse, bubbled. Instead she was in the middle of nowhere on a remote planet digging through what remained of the communications hub with a crude, handmade prosthetic for a leg. Not the most ideal situation.

*gah* "If only Jasper hadn't been so focused on Rose and insisting we take prisoners. If only she had just broken their gems and helped me on my mission like I asked her to then I could be home by now, this miserable planet would be nothing but space dust, and she wouldn't-"

Peridot stopped talking. Something bright red glowed from within the rubble. She knocked away the surrounding debris and picked it up for a closer examination. Her normally green complexion lit up crimson in the light of the crystal.

"Finally, looks like I will be going home after all."

 **000**

"W-wait, you're leaving?" Steven stopped in his tracks along the residential sidewalk. The afternoon summer air suddenly had a chill to it.

*GAH* "I know, right?" Connie shouted "It's like my parents don't even care about my development. Seriously, I am going to live and die alone. No friends, no marriage, no kids, just some old lady who lived in every small U.S. town on the map and nothing to show for it!"

"But it's not like you're leaving, leaving? I mean you're only moving down the block or something, right?" Steven asked knowing full well that he was grasping at straws. Connie would never have been this upset if she were just moving a few blocks.

"Far, Steven. I'm moving several states over. My dad got another security contract somewhere in Florida and mom was talking about opening up her own practice or something like that."

"B-but you like it here." Steven stammered. "I-I mean they have to see that…don't they?"

*Sigh* "Maybe Steven, maybe they do and maybe they don't but I mean my mom was talking about opening her own private practice. She was even going over real estate options with some guy on the phone the other day. I don't think it really matters if this is what I want. It's going to happen."

She punctuated her frustration by kicking the nearest pebble on the sidewalk. Her sandal sent it arcing through the air before landing on the hood of a very expensive looking car. It hit the metal with a loud *thunk* followed by a blaring alarm that echoed around the neighborhood.

Steven felt as if her words had punched the air out of his lungs. "We, uh we should…"

"Yeah" Connie said too angry to care about the car. "We should go." She took Steven's hand in hers and half guided, half dragged him through the suburban maze of houses till they were a safe distance from the car.

Finally Steven built up the courage to speak. "Connie I know this has to be hard but-"

*Argh* "This is just like my parents!" Connie shouted, her sudden outburst causing Steven to flinch. *sigh* "Uh, Sorry Steven I didn't… It just makes me so angry when they keep doing this to me and each time it's always "Don't worry Connie this will be the last time, we promise" but it never is. Look, I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you at once I'm just…I'm just going to head home. I'll call you later on tonight when I know more, okay?"

Without even waiting for a reply Connie turned and headed down the street towards her house leaving Steven on the corner feeling more lost than he ever thought possible.

 **000**

"I can't believe she's leaving town!" Steven shouted as he flopped backwards onto the couch. He let his head fall back as he stared up at the wooden beams on the ceiling of his beach side house.

"Why do you even care dude? She's just human it's not like you weren't going to outlive her anyways." Amethyst said as she shoved a slice of pie into her mouth, swallowing it whole. No one was sure where she had found it or how old it could be. At present, Steven couldn't care less.

"I know you and your friend were…uh, are close but maybe you should start looking at this in terms of the positives." Pearl interjected as she tried to distance herself from the gooey mess Amethyst was making.

Steven stared at her with incredulousness etched on his face. "What good could come from Connie leaving!?"

"Uh, well…I mean I was only trying to…hm, okay think of it like this, you and Connie have spent the whole summer together to the point where she's the only person you hang out with any more. You know what they say: when one door closes another is just opening up. Maybe this is your chance to go out there and meet new people. You know, make new friends and really broaden your horizons."

Steven knew he should be mad. For all her smarts Pearl could be a little thick when it came to people and dealing with emotions. He could feel a small bubble of anger rising up in him but it quickly popped before hitting the surface. Really, she was just trying to help him in her own way.

*Sigh* "Thanks Pearl but I'm not so sure it'll be that easy. I…I don't know. Can't you guys like, you know force Connie's parents to stay here in beach city. I mean I'm not saying kidnap them or anything but at the same time…" Steven let the last of his sentence fall off.

Amethyst burst out laughing *ha, ha* "Dude, you did not just ask that."

Pearl's eyes narrowed "Steven! I am going to try and forget that you just asked us to use our powers on humans and I'll attribute it to stressed emotions but I swear young man, if you ever-"

"Enough!" Garnet shouted. She had been largely silent ever since Steven had burst into the house sobbing and told them everything. She walked over to Steven and put a hand on his shoulder. "I am sorry about your friend Steven I really am, but there is nothing anyone can do now. You heard Connie it's already a done deal and we need to respect her parent's wishes-"

"But-"

"I'm not finished, Steven. What I was going to say is that while there is nothing you can do to stop it you can ensure what time you have left is memorable and frankly that's better than most people can hope for." Garnet finished.

Of course Steven knew she was right. she was always right. He wasn't sure how much of that was future vision or just good instincts but ultimately this was just something he was going to have to accept. "Yeah, you're right." Steven sighed. "Maybe I can't stop it but I'm at least going to make sure that Connie has the best last day in Beach City ever."

 **000**

Dr. Cline Kessler took another sip from his Styrofoam coffee cup and grimaced. Straight black. He hated the taste but his wife insisted no sugars of any sort in his new diet and he wasn't about to give up coffee.

"So anything show up on the screens while I was gone?"

Cline's co-worker Phil snorted as he sat reclining in his black leather office chair. "Heh, has there ever been anything on these screens, ever?"

It was true. NASA's deep space probe program had not sent any long range data back to command since its initial launch back in the 70's. As of this moment most of the probes were supposed to be floating somewhere beyond the rim of the solar system and were long thought to be dead. Still, NASA needed the probes and about a dozen other projects looked after if only to waste tax payer money. Kessler was the newest in a long line of project directors which really meant that his superiors had no idea what to do with him for the time being.

Cline scratched the bald patch forming on the top of his head. "So…how are the wife and kids doing? Jake should be graduating any time now right?"

 **beep**

"What the hell was that?"

"Nothing" grumbled cline's subordinate. "Probably just another glitch in the system. You know we don't have the best computers down here. The higher ups don't think-"

 **beeeeeeeep boom brom**

Unconsciously cline let the styrofoam cup slip from between his fingers. He didn't notice the cup crashing to the floor or the hot coffee that spilled over his pant leg. "T-that wasn't a glitch. That was a response! Quick before we lose the signal. Which probe did that come from?"

Before for he could even register the significance of the signal Phil was typing away on the keyboard. "It looks like deep space probe AD998 sir."

Cline scratched at his bald patch again. "That probe went offline ages ago. What the hell? Try sending a response and see what we get."

Phil typed in a sequence of numbers and issued a command for the probe to respond in the affirmative.

 **bing bing brom**

It was a full fifteen minutes of waiting with baited breath before they got a response. What the tiny basement office in NASA's Kennedy Space Center received was a screen full of static.

Cline was stunned "My god, this might be it! Holy crap … Uh, I mean try running it through our video filters the signal might not be audio."

Cline was right, as usual. The green tinted figure that appeared on screen made him smile for the first time in many years. He was going to be known as the first person in history to communicate with an alien civilization.


	2. Last Day Best Day

"Uh, Steven? Where are we? It doesn't feel like we are on the beach anymore. Can I take my blindfold off yet?" Connie asked no longer feeling the warmth of the sand being kicked up by her sandals.

"Not yet Connie. Just hang on we're almost there."

Steven held his arm out and brought Connie to a halt. "Trust me you are going to love this." Excitement evident in his voice as he peeled the blindfold off Connie's head.

"Ta-da" Steven said, taking a step back to reveal that the pair was standing outside the entrance to Beach City Funland. "Well? What do you think?"

Connie was at a loss. "Well, I think that when you asked me to come to your house and then blindfolded me this was definitely not what I was expecting. But this is nice too, this…. uh, this… Steven, what is this exactly?"

"I-it's funland, you know one of your favorite places in Beach City. I just figured that since you're moving away we could do like a whole day of all your favorite things. Kind of like a greatest hits of Beach City day. Come on, it'll be great."

Connie blushed as she swept a few stray hairs out of her eye. "Oh, Steven. That's so...*haha* that's so cheesy." Steven's smile faltered at that. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea.

"…But, seriously though thank you so, so much for doing this for me. I've never really known anyone who would give me a sendoff like this."

"My pleasure m'lady." Steven bowed.

 **000**

Steven could feel his stomach drop for the umpteenth time that day as their car plummeted down the track skirting a deep curve before passing through a loop. As the train came to a halt inside the station Steven threw up the metal bar fastening him to the car and hopped off the rollercoaster. He looked back at Connie and almost burst out laughing.

"Oh man, Connie you should see yourself right now." Steven extended his hand to help Connie off the coaster.

"W-what? Why what's wrong?" Connie said as she took his hand and lifted herself out of the car.

"Nothing it's just your hair is all like whoosh right now." Steven made a sweeping gesture to show that Connie's hair had gone full anime in the rushing winds of the ride.

*pft* "Whatever, you should see your hair it's all like whoosh too." Connie shot back.

"Yeah, whoosh." _Connie seems to be enjoying herself. Good. I can't believe that by tomorrow she'll in another state._ Steven realized that, standing there on the platform, just how close he was to Connie. Strangely, he felt as if he were dancing with her, fusing into one being again. He could feel butterflies in his stomach tracing electric fire as they rose up within him as a disjointed thought came to him. _That's weird. I'm not on the rollercoaster so why am I feeling-_

*ahem* "Uh, earth to Steven. Sorry but could I have my hand back? I still kind of need it."

"Wha-" Steven's dazed train of thought was broken as he let go of her hand. Connie was staring at him expectantly.

"Talk about being all whoosh and stuff. You just had the weirdest look on your face a second ago."

"Uh, yeah I-"

"Come on doofus let's head over to the arcade next." Connie shouted as she sprinted towards the building marked Funland Arcade in big glowing orange letters.

 _W-what was that?_ Steven shook his head to clear away the butterflies. "Hey, I'm coming! Wait for me."

 **000**

"Steven, watch out! He's going to crush you."

"Wha- Oh, no! I'm out of ammo. Save me Connie!"

Connie cycled through her weapons and selected the rpg. "Hope you're dentist doesn't get too mad." She took aim and fired. Direct hit. The monster exploded in a shower of sparks and flashing neon. The ending cut scene played out while the words "Game Over" flashed on the screen. "Player two, new high score!" The gaming cabinet announced.

Connie holstered the plastic light gun into its allotted space for Super Seizer Shooter 9000: This time it's over 9000. *Hehe* "That's right, you don't mess with these Meheswaran skills."

"Nice job" Steven said holstering his own weapon. "I'd give you an B+"

"What? B+? But I saved your butt from getting totally flattened."

Steven shrugged "You lost points for the terrible one liner."

*pft* "Whatever that was a great one liner. Sooo, what did you want to play next?" Connie said gesturing to the rest of Funland arcade.

"I don't know, it's supposed to be your day today. Pick whatever you want, I'm game for anything." Steven said "and yes, pun intended."

Connie laughed. "Alright you said you like skee ball and I want at least enough tickets for the scooter so let's start there and see where we end up."

 **000**

45 minutes and $50 of Steven's rainy day fund later the pair had earned a combined total of 5,000 tickets. In arcade terms: a handful of candy, silly putty, and a strange plastic, silver ball game from the 90's. It was no scooter but still totally worth it. They were just about to leave when Steven felt a certain pressure building within.

"Uh, sorry Connie but could you hold my stuff I really need to go to the bathroom." Steven said as he shoved a handful of pixie stixs and gummie bear packets into Connie's open hands before running off to find the nearest restroom.

Ten minutes later and Connie found herself leaning against an old carnie style waka-mole game.

*sigh* "Steven where are you?" Connie huffed as she began tapping her foot in rhythm with the dudstep beat playing in the background of the arcade. "I told him to get the small icee, but he just had to the 64oz cup."

"Wow, leaving already? You still have a lot of tickets left."

Connie froze. She had been too focused on Steven's icee problem to notice the boy approaching from behind. Had he heard her talking to herself?

"Uh, I-I wasn't really talking to myself or anything I was just-oh, my…" Connie spun around to meet the boy expecting to find a small, eight year old kid considering the speaker's high pitched voice. What stood before her, however, was two feet taller than her and full of muscle. "Oh, um sorry it's just I was expecting-"

"Whatever" The mountain said as he brushed a lock of coal black hair off of his face. He placed one hand on the wall and leaned in front of Connie barring her path. "So, about those ticket? It's not like you're going to be spending them. I saw you in line earlier. So why don't you share?" He punctuated the word share by placing his other hand on the waka-mole machine effectively caging Connie in.

"Uh, sorry but could you back off a little, please?"

"No."

The thoughts were racing through Connie's head _. I could duck under his arms but he'd catch me almost immediately and Steven still isn't back yet…Wait! I know_. Connie positioned herself to have as much room as possible before bringing her leg back as far as she could and then launched it forward full force between the bully's knees. He gave a startled *yip* before doing an odd sort of hop. He instinctively grabbed the bruised area leaving Connie to run for it.

She got two steps before an iron grip closed around her forearm and yanked her back. The tower was barely even fazed it would seem. _At least I know why his voice is so high_ Connie mused to herself _So many people have kicked him that he doesn't feel it anymore._

She could see his eyes practically glowing red with anger. It was never about the tickets with this guy he just wanted to hurt someone. "You know that wasn't very nice, telemundo."

Connie writhed in his grip. "First off. I'm Indian not Latino, ass. And second, when my friend gets back you are going to be in so much trouble."

Steven WOULD come, she knew it. He had a knack for showing up when she needed him most almost like her own personal superhero. But this time Steven wasn't there. _How long does it take to pee out 64 oz of icee?_ Connie thought before the first blow caught her under the eye, throwing her off balance. She stumbled backwards before falling over. _Oh man this is happening_ she thought _this is really happening. My last day in Beach City and I am going to be beaten up by some high pitched monster._

The bully towered over her winding up to rain another punch down on her. *crunch* A high pitched scream of pain. Connie looked up to see that her world had taken on a pinkish hue. For a moment she wondered if she was experiencing brain damage. Then she recognized the orb encasing her. She had been bubbled which meant… "Steven!"

"C-Connie, what's going on here?" Steven had come back to find Connie crumpled on the ground while a massive kid stood over her. It was almost reflex when he threw up a bubble around her but very satisfying to hear the bully's hand bounce off of it with a loud smack.

The dark haired kid held his injured hand as he retreated from this freak of nature and his pink sphere. "W-what the hell is that?"

Steven took a step forward placing himself in between the bully and Connie. Looking down at his friend he couldn't help but feel the anger rising to the surface. "What's the matter you don't like that?" Steven gestured to the bubble. "Because I can and will do that INSIDE of you if you don't leave, NOW!" The last word, screamed for emphases, sent the kid running.

Steven remained still holding his breath as the kid ran off. Neither he nor Connie spoke as they waited. Waited for the bully to come back with friends, with security, anything really.

"Uh, Steven?"

"Yeah"

"D-do you mind?"

"Oh, right. Sorry."

Steven released the pink shield that surrounded Connie. He held out his hand to help her up for the second time that day. "Connie I'm so, so sorry. I just wanted you to have some good memories before leaving…and I wasn't there and, and I- I should have been there to protect you."

Connie took Steven's hand and lifted herself up. Her heart was racing as she felt the skin just beneath her eye and pulled back at the sudden sting. It was already beginning to swell up. She wasn't even thinking of the conversation she was going to have with her parents that night when they would see the welt. It was just something that happened, one moment she was feeling the lump forming under her eye and the next her arms were wrapped tight around Steven. "T-thank you Steven."

"Connie?"

"I knew you'd show up. It's not like I really needed saving or anything, but still I knew you would come and go all hero on him. Thank you."

Steven could feel the heat rising in his cheeks as he began to blush. "C-Connie I-I was just-"

"Come on Steven there's one more thing I still want to do." Connie suddenly shouted throwing Steven for a loop.

"W-What? I mean, yeah sure anything you want just name it."

"I need a photo to commemorate my hero's rescue." Connie shouted back to him as she ran off to the nearest photo booth along the Funland boardwalk.

Steven caught up to her just as she was entering the booth. "B-but your eye. It's already starting to swell shut. I mean, do you really want a picture of that?"

"Meh, proof that it happened." Connie grimaced internally as she said this. She knew her mom would have thrown a fit if she had heard that her daughter had done something as irresponsible as not immediately putting ice on a swollen eye. "Now get in here and take some pictures with me, hero."

 **000**

Connie and Steven sat on the edge of the Funland pier watching the reddish orange glow of the sun as it began to dip below the horizon.

*haha* "Oh man, Steven you should see this one. My eye looks super bad." Connie held out the strip of pictures taken by the photo booth to Steven with her finger indicating which one she was talking about.

"Yup that is a good picture of a bad eye." Steven confirmed trying to suppress a grin. In the picture he and Connie had been acting like zombies. Both of them had their arms thrown out in front of them with the customary slack jawed vacant expression of the undead. Unfortunately for Connie only the bruised side of her face was visible and this was not helped by the camera flash highlighting every bump and wrinkle.

"I think it's my favorite one of the bunch." Connie said withdrawing the line of photographs.

"Hm, mine too. So how's the snow cone treating you?"

"It's cold and sticky, but very thoughtful Steven."

After they had messed around at the photo booth Steven had used the last of his money to buy three snow cones: cherry for himself, grape for Connie, and lime for Connie's eye which now looked twice as bad being black, swollen, and covered in neon green shaved ice.

Steven scratched at the back of his head. "Uh, listen, Connie about that bully from earlier. Look, I'm really sorry I wasn't there to protect you I mean I know there wasn't much more I could've done but I still feel responsible. Like it was my fault for not being there you know." Connie had her head down watching the coming waves crash into pilings of the pier. "I don't know I guess I just wanted to say I'm sorry again. It's not really fair that your last day in Beach City has to end with a black eye."

Connie looked up and turned towards Steven. "Yeah you're right it isn't fair, but you know what? I don't care. All that really matters is that you had fun even for a part of today. I mean, you did have fun right?"

Steven was beginning to feel confused. "Well, yeah of course I had fun. I mean I love this place but the whole reason we came here was because you like it too."

Connie snorted. *haha* "I know that was the point but in reality Steven all these games, rides, and flashing lights kind of give me a headache. I would have been just fine reading a book."

Suddenly Steven felt like the biggest idiot in the world. "Wha…b-but I had this whole day planned out because I thought you liked this place. O-oh man I've ruined this whole day for you!? Connie I swear I didn't know."

Connie flashed Steven a smile as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Steven, you're forgetting that I could have left anytime I wanted to. The reason why I stayed was because this was YOU'RE favorite place in Beach City and I wanted you to have a good time, to have good memories of me when…when I'm not there." A red blush slowly crept across Connie's face. "I mean when you're happy, I'm happy. It's not just that you have this amazing life you see life in an amazing new way. I-I mean I guess what I'm trying to say is you're not just my friend, you're more than that. You're like…like…like my-" Connie's face was now a deep shade of crimson as she stuttered trying to choke her words out.

"C-Connie? Are you alright?" Steven was beginning to panic, his friend looked like she might pass out at any second. "D-do you need CPR or…or maybe…" *mmmph*

It had happened too fast for either of them to really process what was happening. One moment Steven was panicking afraid he might have to preform CPR while his friend sat red faced and sputtering on the edge of the pier. In the next moment her lips gently brushed against his. It was a small, short sophomore kiss that tasted of grape and cherry. When Connie drew back she looked worried almost as if she had done some terrible, irreparable thing that she should be ashamed of. Steven on the other hand could feel the electric butterflies filling him up again only with a hundred times the intensity.

"C-Connie?"

"S-Steven, I-I'm so sorry. I didn't…I mean with the sunset and, and you, and…I"

"No, no Connie that was…it was just so…so… so whoosh."

Connie's face lit up at that. She had been terrified that Steven might reject her, that their whole relationship would be forever destroyed that…

*zzzt, zzzt*

"Uh, sorry" Connie said standing up. "It's my mom I've got to take this."

She took out her phone and put the receiver to her ear. "Yeah I'm at Funland right now. Yes and his name is Steven mom not that kid. Well no but…*sigh* I know but right now? Can't I just have…alright fine I'll be there."

Connie tapped the end call button with such force she was afraid she may have cracked the screen. Without checking she slid the phone into her back pocket.

Steven stood up, still dazed from the kiss. "Sooo, you have to go now, huh?"

"Yeah."

"So, where do we go from here? With the, uh, you know...and everything?"

"I don't know."

They both stood in silence for a long time as the sun finally set and the pier lights began to go on one by one. A message over the loud speaker announced that Funland was closing for the night. It was time to go home.

Suddenly Steven's arms where around Connie embracing her in a tight hug. "I don't know how but I swear I am going to fix this somehow."

He could feel her shaking as she quietly sobbed into his shoulder. "Steven?"

"Y-yeah?"

"I'm really going to miss you."


	3. It's all Coming Together

"Steven? Steven come on, we need to get going."

Pearl looked down at Steven's prone form as she prodded him with her foot. He had flopped down on his bed the night before after another hours long marathon of crying breakfast friends and hadn't moved since. Normally this sort of behavior wasn't too out of the ordinary; actually it was expected from time to time though usually for a day at most. This had been going on for a week straight.

"Come on. Peridot's escape pod just activated and, according to it, she's at the communication hub." She gave him another poke with the tip of her shoe. "Don't ignore me young man I know full well that you're awake."

Steven rolled over onto his stomach and began snoring as loudly as he could. Pearl remained unconvinced.

"Alright that's it! You've been spending way too much time watching that ridiculous TV and moping around the temple. It's time to get up and get-"

"Pearl!" Garnet shouted. She was already standing on the warp pad with Amethyst by her side. "Let's go. If he wants to be left alone then leave him alone. We can't waste any more time."

Defeated, Pearl looked down at Steven one last time before heading off towards the warp pad. A bright flash of light illuminated the room and the three figures standing on the pad vanished. Steven waited a few more moments just to be sure they were really gone. Not hearing Pearl's whining he opened his eyes and sat up. Groggily his hand sifted through a mess of covers and pillows before finding the remote. His fingers closed around it as he turned on the TV and began flipping through channels. Not finding anything that interested him he left it on the weather channel.

"Whatever."

 **000**

"I'm just worried about his wellbeing is all." Pearl said as the warp pad landed the gems next to the wrecked communication hub. "I mean, ever since Connie moved to Florida all he's done is just sit around the house and watch that infernal show."

"Amen sister." Amethyst said as she hopped off the pad. "Did you know that I actually found one of those cookie cat things in the freezer the other day and Steven just told me to eat it? I mean since when does he turn down food?"

Now Pearl was more concerned than ever. "I-I didn't know that. I can't believe he would just turn it down like that. Hm. But you didn't right?"

"Didn't what?"

"You didn't eat the cookie cat, right?"

Pearl watched as a guilty look passed over Amethyst's face.

"Amethyst how could you!? We got those specifically for Steven because they don't make them anymore."

"So? He said I could."

"Will you two please be quiet. We're trying to actually catch Peridot this time not warn her we're coming." Garnet's harsh whisper cut through Pearl and Amethyst's exchange like a hot knife through butter. "At any rate, don't the two of you remember what it was like when Rose left us? Steven is going through the same thing right now so maybe give him a little more time."

"But it's not the same." Pearl interjected. "I'll miss Connie too, but Rose died, Connie is just a few states over."

The sharp look Garnet gave Pearl ended her argument and elicited a mumbled "Sorry." Garnet continued to lead the way forward. It didn't take long for the gems to make it to the face of the hub. It was still the hulking mess of rubble that the fusion Sugilite had left behind and no Peridot in site.

"Besides." Garnet continued "If I remember correctly a certain drama queen once declared that she would follow Rose to the grave. So I would think you could empathize with Steven a little more Pearl."

Amethyst tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh "Wow I completely forgot about that. Way to crank up the moody blues Pearl."

Pearl gave an indignant huff. "That was a…a dark time for ALL of us. But *sigh* you're right Garnet. I'll give Steven his space."

Garnet smiled. "Of course I'm right. Now, however, if he starts looking at those sites on his computer that Greg warned us about then we can-"

She stopped mid-sentence as she caught something crimson out of the corner of her eye. Peridot maybe? Quickly Garnet waived the other gems to her side and pointed out the bright red glow.

"We go in quietly." She whispered. "Our main objective is to capture Peridot alive but, failing that, we can at least take her out and prevent whatever she and the home world gems are planning. Regardless of what happens out there Peridot does not get away this time. Understood?"

Pearl and Amethyst nodded in the affirmative.

"Then let's go."

Using the overturned fragmented crystal pillars as cover the gems slowly advanced till they were within striking distance. They hid behind a pillar that had been knocked on its side. It was all that stood between them and Peridot.

"On three?" Amethyst whispered

"On three." Garnet confirmed "1…2…NOW!"

The gems vaulted over the pillar weapons drawn ready for anything that Peridot might throw at them.

"Uh, guys? I don't want to let anyone down but Peridot may have gotten away again." Amethyst stated, sending her weapon away in a flash of indigo tinged light.

The other gems did the same. Beyond the pillar there was nothing but miles of endless ocean and a small structure along the shore line that gave off a crimson glow. As the gems approached the glow Pearl bent down in the sand to examine it.

"Sooo, what exactly is it?" Amethyst asked.

Pearl was silent for a moment. The structure almost looked like a knee high replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The green tint of the crystals making up the pillars were outshined by the bright red crystal floating in the middle. She reached out her hand and delicately touched the hovering gem. At first everything seemed normal then, suddenly, Pearl's body went ridged as her eyes slowly rolled back into her skull.

"Uh, Pearl? Are you okay?" Amethyst asked with a little more concern in her voice than she meant to show.

"Yves norvac soak himptal."

"What!?"

"-idot. This is Peridot broadcasting on all frequencies." In the most horrifying act of ventriloquism either gem had seen Peridot's voice was coming out of Pearl's mouth. "I am currently trapped on the former gem controlled planet know as Earth. Please send help immediately. This is Per-"

Garnet yanked Pearl's hand away from the crimson stone. Pearl revived almost immediately.

"W-wait, what happened? Where am I? Am I…P-Peridot…or…no, no I am Pearl. A totally normal non defective Pearl." She announced.

"Bravo. You remembered your name. Now what exactly was that?" Amethyst questioned. Her sarcasm only briefly covering the relief in her voice.

"Hm, well, it seems that our friend Peridot has constructed a mini transmitter from the surrounding crystalline rubble and what looks like a core beacon stone." Pearl smirked "By the way, that's what the glowy red thing is Amethyst."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Got it."

"Still, it's so small I can't imagine that she could reach anyone beyond this solar system. My analysis? This is a crude and desperate attempt by a gem with no options left. We'll get her soon."

Amethyst still wasn't reassured. "Okay so that explains what she was doing here but how come she got away. I mean how long has that signal been playing anyways?"

Pearl blinked. "I don't know a couple of weeks maybe. Give or take."

"A couple of weeks!? That's got to be our slowest response time yet."

"It doesn't matter." Garnet interjected as she bubbled the beacon stone and sent it back to the temple. "So maybe she somehow found out we are using her escape pod to track her down and then found a way to delay the signal. It's like Pearl said this WAS a desperate attempt by a desperate gem. If this was the best she could muster then I do believe we will be catching her very soon. Until then we can head back to the temple and plan our next move. This was a very educational field trip."

 **000**

A bright flash of light illuminated Steven's room in the temple as the warp pad activated and the crystal gems stepped off.

"Guys!" Steven shouted as he ran towards the gems. "You've gotta see this!"

He was pointing at the TV he kept at the foot of his bed. Pearl rolled her eyes and scoffed. "That's nice Steven but I'm afraid we don't have time to binge watch that awful crying show with you right now."

"Yeah dude that show is super creepy." Amethyst agreed.

"No!" Steven shouted now pulling on Garnet's leg trying to make her budge and failing. "It's bad guys, really bad."

"Well I'm glad you can finally see that Steven but that still doesn't-"

"No, not Crying Breakfast Friends." Steven shouted again, annoyance evident in his voice. "It's gem related stuff and, and on the TV!"

The gems immediately rushed to the TV to see what Steven had discovered. On screen a short balding man stepped up to a podium in a highly decorated government press room. He was flanked by various military officials. The title card under his name read: Dr. Cline Kessler Researcher/project manager for Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

Cline stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat. "I-Is this thing on? Hello? Uh, yes well since the dawn of mankind we have asked ourselves if we are alone in the universe. Well today I can answer that no, no we are not." He paused almost as if he were expecting some sort of standing ovation or something. None came.

*argh* "This guy is such a nerd." Amethyst said before being silenced by a look from Garnet.

The program continued with much of the same tone wherein Kessler explained how he had discovered the alien signal and made contact with the strange creature known as Peridot. Cline was obviously not a public speaker but he had been the one to make contact. Somehow that was all the authority he needed.

"So, in summary, we received a signal from an alien apparently trapped on our planet and we now must take it upon ourselves to ensure its safe return. Sort of an E.T. scenario. At this point in time we can't give any more details but know that this is the greatest step forward human kind has ever taken. So until further information can be released I say to you world: goodnight and god bless."

Steven flipped off the TV just as the announcement ended leaving the room in dead silence.

"Well." Said Amethyst. "At least we know where Peridot is now."

* * *

So, to anyone following the story thus far I'd just like to say thanks and that the next chapter will probably be the one to push this story into the M rated range so if you want to continue it please look for it there sometime next week. Thanks again and hope you enjoy the story.


	4. Attack on Peridot

The van's tire kicked up another rock as it sped down the dusty road. It hit a pothole where the road had buckled from the extreme heat causing the van to bounce and sending its occupants in the back sliding across their seats. With the lack of any safety measures Amethyst was doing her best to brace herself against the door and the seat to stop from sliding into Garnet who sat next to her with Steven in her lap arms folded over him to form a make shit seat belt. Pearl on the other hand was sitting content and safe in the passenger seat with as she studied a map she had pulled out of the glove compartment in Greg's van.

"Uh, so why are we heading to Florida again?" Greg asked trying to maintain focus on the road despite the heat. He could feel beads of sweat snake their way down his back as the mid-day sun continued to ignore the car's AC. "Does it have something to do with that report on TV a few days ago?"

No response.

At the start of the trip Greg had tried to turn on the radio but Pearl quickly shut it off deeming his taste in music to be "Unsuitable for Steven to listen to and generally damaging to one's brain" everything else on the radio was static so it stayed off. The silence was beginning to get to him.

"Huh, so that report was pretty crazy though right? I mean you guys have been looking for Peridot for ages and then one day, BAM! She just shows up on TV? Who would have thunk it am I right? You know it's just like my old aunt- WHOA!"

Greg swerved to avoid a deer carcass that had been splattered all over the asphalt. Probably the work of another semi-truck driver's stellar performance. Greg swerved back into his lane causing Amethyst to lose her hold on the seat and crash into Garnet.

"Ow!" Amethyst said. "Could we maybe slow it down a little? Garnet's elbow is super pointy."

"Sorry." Greg mumbled as he tried to focus on the road. There was an exit that he was supposed to take coming up soon.

"There's just one thing I don't quite get." Pearl said to no one in particular. "How does the communication device we found at the hub fit into all of this? I mean, Peridot builds this thing and then contacts humans for help? It just doesn't make any sense."

"Well, we'll just have to ask her when we find her." Steven chirped. He looked out the window at the passing cars and palm trees flying by. He knew it was a long shot but the thought _Maybe I'll get to see Connie_ kept popping into his mind. After all this was the state she moved to, right?

"Hm, yes I suppose we will." Pearl agreed. "Oh, by the way, Greg you're going to want to take this exit."

"Wait, What!?"

The tires of the van gave a loud shriek as Greg cranked the steering wheel in a desperate attempt to make the exit. The van scrapped against the metal guard rail as they barely made the turn. Amethyst went head first into the glass window. "HEY! That one was on purpose!" She shouted.

 **000**

"Sooo, since when did this NASA place get armed guards and barbed wire fences?" Amethyst asked.

Greg's van had been parked a mile outside of the Kennedy Space Center. Amethyst was sitting on the hood of Greg's van with a pair of binoculars they had found wedged between the driver's seat and floor.

"Mind if I look?" Pearl reached down from her place on the roof and grabbed the binoculars from Amethyst. She squinted through the moonlit night at the complex. Most of the center was dark except one building that looked like it might be a hanger. "Do you think we did the right thing sending Steven to wait with Greg at that motel?" She could still see the disappointment etched in Steven's face as they drove off to confront Peridot without him.

"Yes, I do." Garnet said leaning against the side of the van. "I'll be the first to say that Steven has been making remarkable progress in getting a handle on his gem powers but this is different. We aren't just dealing with gem related problems. The humans are involved now and things could go very wrong here. I don't want Steven to face animosity from both gems and his own people."

*psh* "Whatever" Amethyst piped up. "I still say we should have brought him. This is like the last level boss battle and without Steven it just feels kinda empty ya'know."

"Noted" Garnet said. "Pearl? Any strategies?"

"Oh, what if we just talk to them?" Amethyst chirped. "Once they hear how totally awesome we are and how totally not awesome Peridot is they should just help us, right? I mean she is kinda trying to destroy all human life. I'm pretty sure that's not something most humans would want."

Pearl gave Amethyst a wary look before setting down the binoculars and hopping off the roof of the van. "Well, it seems like the majority of both armed and unarmed humans are concentrated around that hanger. It's reasonable to believe that Peridot and whatever she's cooking up is located there. We can try to talk to those humans at the gate and explain the situation to them if you want but I seriously doubt that will work. If worse comes to worse...well, they are alone out there, hm. We will have to deal with them before they can contact anyone at the very least. Baring that? I say we hop the fence and take a stealth approach until we get to the hanger. Observe what we can and then, well…we can rush the hanger and put an end to this whole Peridot chapter."

"Alright." Garnet said "Sounds like a plan."

 **000**

At the gate house the two guards were chatting with one another. It had been a long day of turning away all of the "aliens are real" freaks but now that night had fallen over the base things seemed to have quitted down.

"So anyways Bill she tries to leave the house practically naked. I mean her tits were almost hanging out over this top it was so small and so I told her no, you're not leaving the house like that. So she gets mad at me and this morning I find a brick in my car's windshield. A fucking brick! But it's like I was telling her ya'know? You can't leave the house like that. It's just not respectful to…ho-ly shit."

The man named Bill turned to see what his partner was looking at. A squarely built feminine figure more than a head taller than either of them materialized from the darkness. He could see his face reflected in her oddly shaped sunglasses despite the darkness of the night. It was a few moments before his partner found his courage again.

"Ah, hey. Sorry Bertha but I'm afraid this is a restricted area. I'm going to have to ask you to turn around and head back the other way, now."

Garnet eyed the man's weapon just as the other gems emerged from the darkness next to her.

"Chill out dude we're on your side." The short purple one said nonchalantly.

"Yes, that's right." said the samurai ballerina. "We know that you are housing an….uh, associate of ours on your premises. Her name is-"

"Yes, Peridot we know." Bill said. "We've been getting you weirdos all day like a god damned parade. Just give up and go home." He leveled his m16 at the big one for emphasis. "Now!"

Bill's partner took aim with his weapon as well. "No joke ladies move along. Seriously though what's with you people? The last couple we had to turn away were straight up hippies but you three just look-" *Whump*

Before Bill could even register what was happening the square woman had crushed his partner's weapon in one hand and slammed her fist into the back on his neck with the other effectively knocking him out. Bill was about to respond when he felt his gun slide from his hands as the ballerina yanked the weapon away as easily as a parent would take a toy from a child. In the next instant he felt a fist impact on the back of his skull before everything went black in a haze of stars.

"Well so much for just talking to them eh, Amethyst?" Pearl said as she eased Bill's unconscious body to the ground.

*pft* "Whatever." Amethyst said blowing some stray strands of hair out of her eye. "It's not like you guys really gave them a chance."

 **000**

*sigh* Steven starred up at the popcorn ceiling of their motel room tracing figures in the bumps with his mind. With its lime green curtains, coffee stained rug and poor lighting the décor of the room looked as if it hadn't been changed since its inception in the 50's.

Sitting on moth eaten covers on the edge of the bed Greg looked over at his son "What's wrong stuball?" he asked.

Too caught up in thought Steven almost didn't answer. On the one hand he was closer to Connie than he had been in the past few weeks on the other hand… "Dad? What was it like when mom died? I mean what did you do with yourself not having her around all the time?"

The question caught Greg off guard. The worst he had been expecting something relating to puberty. "Uh, wow that's kind of a big question there. Why did you want to know about that anyways? Is it because of Connie?"

"She hasn't even called me since she moved!" Steven burst out. "I don't even know where she lives. I mean I know she lives somewhere in this state but I don't know where exactly. It's just…why is she ignoring me?"

Greg scratched at the back of his head feeling that this was one of those father son moments. Better not screw it up. "Well, Steven I'm sure Connie is having a bit of a difficult time adjusting to her new life what with moving states and leaving behind her friends. Look, buddy you're just going to have to give her a little more time to get used to her new life. I mean moving from state to state like that can't be easy for her. She'll call you when she's ready. Trust me."

Steven wasn't feeling as confident as his dad sounded but he tried to put on a brave face "Yeah, you're probably right dad."

"Of course I am." Greg said. "Now let's watch some TV and put Connie out of our minds for a little while, eh."

Greg turned on the TV and began flipping through the channels.

"W-wait go back dad!" Steven exclaimed.

"Alright." Greg said. "But if it's that Crying Breakfast Friends show I might have to turn it off." Flipping back two channels the TV landed on special emergency news report depicting the Florida space center aflame with the caption reading: Group of terrorists cause explosion at NASA, death toll unknown. The remote fell out of Greg's hand.

"Oh man, what have they done?"

 **000**

"Amethyst get down." Garnet whispered to the purple gem moments before a truck full of military personnel sped by unaware of the three gems hidden behind the stack of crates. The crystal gems had made it to the hanger without incident save for the two guards at the gate and once when Pearl stepped in something they couldn't identify nearly causing an outburst of panic. Beyond that, no incidents.

"Alright we made it." Said Pearl keeping her voice as low as possible to avoid any unwanted attention. "Now, naturally we are going to have to do some reconnaissance before we can make our move. There's no sense in rushing this. We wait and listen. Maybe it's a glimpse of what they're working on, maybe it's a bit of conversation that we over hear but the important thing to remember is-"

"What about talking to that doctor guy from the TV?" Amethyst interrupted.

"Uh, well yes that would be ideal but I highly doubt that-"

"No, right there! He's right over there." Amethyst said pointing to a distracted Dr. Cline Kessler talking on his cell phone as he walked towards the gems.

"Well, then." Said Garnet "That is…fortunate."

"Sooo, grab him then?"

"Yes, grab him."

 **000**

*thud* Dr. Kessler's back hit the metal siding of the shed with such force he knew his next call would be to a chiropractor.

"Do you have any idea what you've done!?"

Cline looked up at the tall woman who had grabbed him and dragged him to the shed. "Look lady I don't know how you got past the guards but I swear you're going to…" He stopped for a moment as his eyes finally adjusted to the night and he could get a better look at his captor. "Wait, it's you. I know you. I know all three of you." He said finally realizing there were others.

"She warned me about you three. Peridot that is. She told me how dangerous you really were. How you went crazy and began killing your own kind. Committing genocide. You prevented the gem's peace mission from taking place because you couldn't take an alliance between your precious proud gems and these new mud soaked apes. Do you have any idea how many years you've set humanity back?"

"That's a lie!" Garnet said throwing up a punch that dented the metal inches from Cline's head.

Cline eyed the punctured shed wall. "Uh huh, sure it is. Do what you want with me but know that it won't matter. Peridot and I have already completed the communication device. We were just in the middle of a test. In a few moments Peridot will be able to contact her kind and then we'll see what these so-called homeworld gems will have to say about you."

Garnet had heard enough. The homeworld gems were responsible for the massacre all those years ago and they were the ones behind Peridot's fusion experiments. The greatest mockery of fusion Garnet could ever imagine. Now she was being blamed for their crime? She gave a small twist of her powerful hands. *crack* Cline slumped to the ground.

"Wait did you just kill him!?" Amethyst asked more than a little horrified.

"No, I don't think so."

"W-well yeah but don't you think we should at least check to see if he's still breathing?"

"There's no time." Garnet said sternly. "You heard him. At any moment Peridot will be able to contact home world and then that's it. Game over. We need to go now!" Garnet said as she and the other gems hurried towards the hanger leaving an out of commission Cline leaning against the shed wall.

 **000**

"Move faster you clods!" Peridot shouted at the technicians hurriedly typing on they're keyboards. _Gah, no wonder this species is doomed. Even a brain dead gem could set this up faster_ Peridot thought to herself.

Originally this had not been the plan when she activated the core beacon stone but it would seem that the stone's maximum range was just enough to reach this NASA place's probe and from there she was able to make contact with a human organization that was willing to help her in the name of unity between species, well, that and a few well-placed lies. She may have only been a few hundred miles from this DR. Kessler but it was longest distance call anyone had made on earth. Regardless, with this human organization's resources she would be able to contact the gem homeworld. Hopefully.

"Uh, ma'am?" One of the monkeys piped up.

"What is it drone?" Peridot asked in growing frustration. She had been working with these so-called experts for weeks and they had only now just begun to finish the communication amplifier. She had told Cline that the TV report was a bad idea. He had promised her he wouldn't go to the media with anything related to her but that was exactly what he did and now those crystal clods were probably on their way. Still, she couldn't leave, not just yet.

"Uh, Dave ma'am. My name is Dave and I think we're just about done here all you have to do it type in your homeworld's coordinates and the device will take care of the rest."

*sigh* "Finally. And also…thank you, Dave." Peridot said before moving to the control panel. She was going to go home, she was finally going to go home. She could almost smell her old office space brimming with the latest gem tech. Monitoring various gem controlled worlds and working on tech projects for the higher ups had become somewhat calming over the years. She could hardly wait to get back to it.

Peridot looked at the crude keyboard in disgust. Manual inputs? Great. "Alrighty then, just gotta push this here. Type that in and then hit this button…"

The machine activated as it began to position itself according to the coordinates punched in. *shink* a crystal spear lodged itself in the control panel inches from her hand sending up warning signals across the screen.

"Peridot! Stop right there!"

Peridot turned to face the crystal gems at the entrance of the hanger. Her emerald complexion suddenly dropped to a lighter shade.

"You three again? Why!? Why can't you just let me leave this ridiculous planet!?" She screamed.

"Uh, because if you leave you'll be back with more gems to destroy it." Amethyst said.

"So? Why do even care about these humans? All they do is fight each other and burn through their planet's resources. I mean they've had thousands of years and they still haven't discovered a source of perpetual energy? Just give it up already." Peridot punctuated her speech with an energy blast from one of her hovering appendages. The gems scattered in different directions as the energy ball exploded on the concrete floor of the hanger sending debris flying through the air. The impact of the explosion set Peridot's helper, Dave, into the metal wall where he slumped to the ground as blood began to pour from his head.

The technicians in the hanger quickly found the exits and left, not having much loyalty for the green menace that had taken over their work in the past few weeks. The machine began to light up after finally finding its intended target.

"Hah, you see." Peridot crowed. "I win. My distress signal is already being broadcast to homeworld." She fired off another volley of shots at the gems.

Garnet dodged the ball aimed at her and leapt in the air. "It's not over yet Peridot!" She drew her weapon and slammed her fist into the platform Peridot had been standing on causing her to fall off.

*crunch* Peridot's makeshift prosthetic leg broke off as she landed with a thud. By now the communicator was beginning to shake violently as is continued to boost its message.

"W-what's happening to the communicator?" Amethyst asked.

"It's coming apart." Pearl observed "Peridot built this thing in a rush, it can't handle the output. If it keeps on like this it will become unstable."

"No!" Peridot screamed as she tried steadying herself against the hanger wall. "You gems won't ruin this for me. Not this time!" She fired off another shot. This time she hit her mark.

Garnet was sent to the ground after taking the hit square in the chest. She tried sitting up again, seeing the ragged red hole burned into her chest. She tried to say something before falling back down. Her body had become useless. *poof* her form disappeared in an explosion of smoke as her gems hit the floor.

"Garnet!" the others cried in unison. Almost on instinct they rushed to gather up what was left of their friend.

 _Finally_ Peridot thought. The signal had been sent. Now, there was nothing left to do but disappear and wait for her rescue to come. "See you later crystal clods." She said before hobbling towards the door marked exit. _Just gotta reach the door._ she thought. _Just gotta reach the door and get out of here. The humans will take care of these clowns and I can just slip away in the-*_ Hurk*

Peridot stopped and looked down in horror to see a crystalline spear protruding from her chest. A thick neon green liquid began to leak from the wound. "No!" She coughed and spat up more of the green liquid. "No…No. No! I was *wheeze* so cl-" *poof* Her body disappeared in a cloud of smoke as her gem hit the floor and rolled towards the communicator, now on fire as it struggled to continue sending the signal.

"Nice shot P." Amethyst said patting Pearl on the back. "So, what do we do about that?" She said pointing at the communicator as it shook some paneling lose.

"Nothing." Pearl said. "The signal has already been sent and the communicator looks like it's about ready to blow. All we can do now is get Garnet out of here and prepare for the worst."

"B-but what about Peridot?"

"Leave her." Pearl said coldly. "She can go up with this infernal contraption."

Before Amethyst could protest Pearl grabbed her friend and guided her towards the exit just as the machine went critical and hit its breaking point. It exploded in a ball of blazing hot reds and yellows that destroyed the hanger and lit several nearby buildings on fire, brightening the night sky momentarily.

The news crews were on the scene in a matter of minutes to report on the supposed terrorist attack that had just taken place on NASA but by that point the crystal gems were far away.


	5. Last one out of Florida

"…eridot, this is Peridot broadcasting on all channels with a message for Yellow Diamond. Please respond. The fusion experiments are progressing nicely but I've run into some trouble. Both my escort and my informant have completely disappeared. I don't know if commander Jasper or the traitor Lapis are still alive. Furthermore, my ship is completely trashed and the escape vessel is now in the hands of rebel leftovers from Rose Quarts' army. I need help. Please send anyone, send everyone! I...I want to go home."

"Heh, I told her she couldn't handle the cluster project." Onyx laughed. Today was her day to listen to and coordinate broadcasts from all gem controlled worlds. What luck that she would be the one to pick up Peridot's transmission from earth. "Should have listened to me, Perri." she said before replaying the message a few more times to really savor the desperation in her stuck up colleague's voice. The last bit when all of her smugness left her was especially priceless. Maybe she would send the transmission to Agate or Melanite for a good laugh, after all command didn't need to hear this just yet.

 **000**

Greg's head hit the cold metal of the roof again as his van skirted over another pothole in the road. His fingernails dug into the steering wheel as he watched the speedometer raise five then ten miles over the speed limit.

He had been on edge ever since the news report on TV showed the flaming wreckage of the hanger, naming the gems as responsible for the carnage. When, after an hour of waiting, they had finally showed up in the motel parking lot with his van he had acted purely on instincts going into autopilot mode. He stuffed Steven in the car leaving their bags in the motel room and sped off. Now he was fleeing with three fugitives wanted for various acts of wanton destruction. Thank god none of the gems had been captured on video or he would've had to have left them in the parking lot. There was no shame in knowing when to bail.

Steven was crushed between Amethyst and Garnet in the back seat of the van. Despite the cool morning air pouring in from the van's open window a bead of sweat ran down the back of his neck. That news report on TV had made the gems seem like monsters…like…like terrorists. But that wasn't them…right? No, it couldn't be. They were the crystal gems! They defended humanity and protected the weak and yet...their refusal to speak about the fire at the hanger was not encouraging. It was out of character and…eerie. Finally Steven couldn't take it anymore he had to say something, anything just so long as there was noise.

"Man, heh, I'm feeling a little hungry. How about you Amethyst? Hungry?"

Amethyst looked over at Steven and gave him a half-hearted smile. She seemed a million miles away. "Sure dude, food sounds good…but let's wait until we're back at the temple okay?"

"Right." Steven Said. "You guys were gone for so long dad and I ordered victory pizza but then…you know, the whole explosion thing."

Silence.

"Sooo, did we figure out what Peridot was up to? Did she get away again?"

Pearl gave a startled look at the mention of the former gem but otherwise said nothing. She hated the green menace just as much as the others but she could almost empathize with her desperate attempts to go home. That struggle to get some place where you're not just accepted but loved. Staring out the passenger side window she watched the rising sun. _I did the best I could. I made the right choice...didn't I, Rose?_

Amethyst and Garnet exchanged uneasy looks. In the rush to escape back to Beach City no one had told Greg or Steven what had actually happened in the hanger hours before. Steven had no idea that an army of homeworld gems were probably on their way right now hell-bent on wiping out humanity, that Pearl had made the decision to leave Peridot in the explosion, probably killing her, or that they had, in part, been responsible for an act that now alienated them from the very species they were trying to protect. Steven was going to find out eventually so there was no harm in keeping him in the dark for just a little longer. Ignorance, in this case, was bliss.

"Y-you guys didn't really blow up that hanger did you? T-the news report said some humans were injured or…killed?" Steven winced knowing this was the wrong question to ask, but he had to know, to be reassured.

More Silence.

"Look I'm not judging you guys I'm sure that you did what you had to do but you need to talk to me. I'm a crystal gem too you know."

*zzzt, zzzt*

Almost relieved that he wouldn't be getting an answer Steven dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. His heart skipped a beat when he saw who was calling him. For the first time in weeks Connie was trying to talk to him, the timing couldn't be coincidence. Apprehension building he slid his finger across the screen and put the speaker to his ear.

"Steven? Steven? Are you there?"

Steven's voice caught in his throat and for a moment their kiss played through his mind. He could smell the night air heavy with salt water and feel the butterflies fluttering in the pit of his stomach.

"Steven? Steven I know you're there I can hear you breathing. Just say something." There was a desperate edge to Connie's voice that snapped Steven back to reality.

"Connie? Where have you been? I've been waiting to hear from you for ages."

"Steven? What in the hell is going on? I came downstairs this morning and my parents were huddled around the TV. Something about an attack just a few miles from our house." Connie hesitated for a moment almost as if she were mentally preparing herself for some big hurdle. "Steven, the report on TV. That gem they were talking about just a few days ago. Did you guys have anything to do with this?"

Steven bit his lip. How could he tell her? Technically the gems had left him behind. They were the ones who attacked the Kennedy Space Center. He didn't have anything to do with it! He let the words run through his mind before he realized he couldn't go that route. Honesty was the best policy or at least it was according to Pearl. "Y-yeah that might have been us."

"What!?" Connie screamed. In that one word Steven could hear the absolute disgust and shock he knew she would harbor. "S-Steven how could you do that? The news report said that people died. Did…did you kill people?"

Steven could feel his stomach drop at the question. It didn't matter that he wasn't there, it didn't matter that he had not been the one to destroy the hanger. That one question could never be taken back and it would forever define his relationship with Connie.

He could practically hear the tears running down Connie's cheeks now. "Steven? I-I thought I knew you I thought you were a good person but this...Steven I-I just...I can't..."

He knew he should say something, defend himself, rage about how the crystal gems did what they had to do to protect the earth from invasion but the words caught in his throat.

"Goodbye Connie." He said as he hit the end call button.

 **000**

Agate stared out her window into the vast emptiness of space. She was currently stationed on an orbital gem ship bound for the homeworld warp which hopefully would take the ship as close to earth as possible. She stretched her lanky arms and began polishing the 12 inch amber colored blade affixed to her wrist. The message Onyx had sent her had been good for a laugh at first. It was nice to hear the high and mighty queen Peridot practically in tears begging for a ticket home. Now, however, the message was a source of annoyance. Once high command got a hold of it she and the other "war gems" were dispatched to retrieve Peridot and "protect the cluster" whatever that was. There was also mentions of Rose Quarts but Agate stopped listening at that point. Ancient history was so boring.

"Next stop Earth, I guess." Agate Yawned.

* * *

Hey, thanks for reading and sorry about the delay in chapters but yeah, school and tests suck.


End file.
